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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Will be going to Ukraine again in 2012, and it would be
great to have you join me. We have a most wonderful time. You can arrange a
special itinerary for your group. We are happy to accommodate.

Have had one tour where it was a whole clan of family and friends, celebrating
the centennial of the family's settlement in Canada. They went back to their
ancestors' villages and had great reunions. It was a treat to accompany them.

Have also had extended families traveling together, as well as groups of
friends. There have been folks from Australia, and from Japan, as well as from
across all of North America. Now we are all friends, and I am blessed to have
met them and traveled with them.

The number in the tour is limited, so folks need to sign up with Martha as soon
as they can. Sign up here.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

I can't make this up, folks. In today's Books section of the Winnipeg Free Press (Dec. 17, 2011), Anita Daher, writer for the Paper Chase section, wrote the item below. Wow! She really dug deep and all around! Gulp.... Hoping to hear from Rusalka folks from all around. Already have a few replies.

A broadcaster once called her a "walking, talking Ukrainian encyclopedia," but for her next project, Winnipeg writer Orysia Tracz is seeking the public's help. In preparation for the Rusalka Ukrainian Dance Ensemble's upcoming 50th anniversary, she is gathering personal stories and reflections for a commemorative book.
Rusalka was founded by Peter Hladun in 1962, and grew from a small troupe to a world-class ensemble, touring nationally and internationally, performing at festivals and for heads of state and royalty.
Tracz wants to hear from anyone with a memory or story, including current members, alumni, parents, fans, collaborating dance ensembles, and past and present board members. "What has being in Rusalka meant to you? What is your best memory?"
To contribute, email orysiarusalka@gmail.com or mail Orysia Tracz, c/o Rusalka Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, P.O. Box 3059, Winnipeg, MB, R3C 4E5.

Then there are the Ukrainian-style embroidered and woven shirts
in black. Being the total opposite
background from the traditional sorochka, the designs on these shirts are in
bright yellow, orange, and red, or white and silver, or other contrasting
colors. This is a fairly new style, from
the last decade or so. The image is
striking and colorful. But it is so
incongruous, especially because it is so untraditional. A sorochka, especially for Sunday and
special occasions must be “bila-bila” – white.
And yet, in context, this black look does not bother me. Some exquisite designs have been created. However, it is a stage and special occasion
piece of clothing, and not to be worn with a traditional costume. Why would I ever mention this
no-brainer? Because at a festival in
Winnipeg I saw a young woman on a stage wearing a pretty embroidered black
sorochka along with the traditional sash and wrap skirt of Bukovyna. Ouch!
This is as bad as the fully-beaded modern supposedly-Bukovyna sorochky
worn with a full Hutsul costume, as seen recently in Hutsul villages. Talk about incongruous!

I have wondered where and when the black style started in
Ukraine. There is one possibility of a
Canada>Ukraine influence. Sylvia
Todaschuk, a Winnipeg businesswoman and community proponent, and owner of the
Todaschuk Sisters Ukrainian Boutique, is also a consultant for performing
groups and events. Her business opened
in 1985 on Selkirk Avenue. As she
remembers, sometime around 1986-87, the members of the well-known D-Drifters
band were to perform at Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival in Dauphin,
Manitoba. They asked Ms Todaschuk to
come up with outfits that were different.
The other requirement was that the shirts should not show soiling –
especially from the dark guitar and accordion straps. Ms Todaschuk came up with black shirts with
sewn-on embroidery-style ribbons. She
also created black t-shirts with embroidery on the pockets. At the time, she and the band were criticized
by some for this non-traditional look. Times have sure changed. And how many Ukrainian-themed t-shirts are
out there now!

But there is another possibility closer to home, in
Ukraine, and the following chronology of the appearance of the black
embroidered shirts seems very possible. In searching for songs about the sorochka, I
checked the very informative http://www.pisni.org.ua/ site.
Leave it to the Ukrainians to have songs about hops, kalyna [viburnum],
the rushnyk [ritual cloth], a bridge, the black soil, and – yes – the
embroidered sorochka. At least
twenty-four songs appeared in the search.
A very pretty and sentimental one is Mamyna
Sorochka [Mother’s Sorochka] by Natalia Mai, praising the very white
embroidered shirt that means so much.
But then further down the list I noticed Chorna Vyshyvanka [The Black Embroidered Sorochka] by composer/lyricist
Oleksandr Shevchenko.

At first the story of the song, as listed with the lyrics
on the website, left me dubious. No
names, no exact location – an apocryphal origin. “At the end of the 1940s, during the middle
of the night, Povstantsi [UPA soldiers, Ukr. Insurgent Army] knocked on the
window of a house in a Carpathian village.
They asked the owner to take care of an injured soldier. The family took him in, and he was hidden in
the hay in the barn. So that no one in
the village would know about him, the 11- or 12-year-old daughter of the family
took him food… When he healed from his wounds, and got ready to leave again for
the forest, he left the girl his black embroidered sorochka [shirt], and said,
“When you grow up and have a son, give him this sorochka – may he wear it and
remember about us”…. She fulfilled the
soldier’s wish. Her son put on that
black sorochka when he went to Rynok Square [Ploshcha Rynok in Lviv], where for
the first time after the Soviet era, the blue-and-yellow flag was raised [over
city hall]…. “ Oleksandr Shevchenko continues, “…. I asked to
see the sorochka. The babusia
[grandmother] brought it… It was black fabric, embroidered in hot colors,
yellow, red… And when I held this sorochka in my hands, I felt an energy and
power emanating from it… I wrote this song the next day, giving the story of
the sorochka. It is called “Chorna
Vyshyvanka” [the black embroidered shirt].”

Replying to my request, Shevchenko gave the details. The song was written in 1990, based on the
story told to him by the owner of the shirt, Yuriy Bobyk, who was given it by
his mother according to the wishes of the UPA soldier. These events happened in the post-war years
in the village of Zhuriv, Rohatyn povit, Stanyslaviv [now Ivano-Frankivska
Oblast]. The girl’s name was Stefa
[Bobyk’s mother], the soldier was Myron.
The sorochka still exists. In one
of her concerts, soloist Natalka Samsonova wore the sorochka in performing the
song. Myron’s fate is unknown, as well
as his surname. Often the soldiers had
pseudonyms, for security. The last news
from him was from the territory of then Czechoslovakia. One of his letters to Stefa has been
preserved [Shevchenko sent me a copy, along with a few photos of Stefa]. In the letter he asks to pass on greetings to
Mariyka and Slavko. The song appears on
YouTube -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQ9kQj8f6Fc&feature=related

Oleksandr Shevchenko, a native of Hadiach, Poltava
region, has been writing and composing since 1979. His songs, including the big hit Staren’kyi Tramvai by Pikardiys’ka Tertsiya, have been performed
by many prominent artists. He has
participated in numerous festivals, and has written close to 140 songs, a
number of them about the UPA. This poet
and composer reaches the soul and heart with his lyrics and melodies.

To my question of why the original sorochka was
embroidered on untraditional black fabric, Shevchenko explained: in the circumstances of the life of the
povstantsi (UPA soldiers) – forest, caves, hiding places – a white sorochka
would be absolutely impractical and inconvenient for everyday life. The chumaky and kozaks also used dark shirts,
soaked with tar or wagon grease. These
didn’t get dirty (or dirtier), kept out dampness and, very importantly, resisted
insects. A very practical
explanation. It is interesting that the
povstantsi would still need or want a sorochka during wartime. But in the many books on costume and
embroidery that I have checked, I either missed the mention of this, or it
hasn’t been covered. Most information is
about the everyday and festive white linen and hempen sorochky. The everyday “work” shirts would still be
lightly embroidered, because the ornaments were protective and symbolic. I will
have to keep searching.

This UPA story most probably explains how the popular
present-day chorna vyshyvanka came about.
We appreciate and treasure the traditional and we go forward with
innovations and creativity. But we must
do this with the knowledge, understanding, and respect for the source. And what a deep wellspring of inspiration we
are fortunate to have!

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ABOUT ME

I'm a writer, translator, and speaker, mostly on things Ukrainian. People often turn to me for information on Ukrainian traditions, costumes, culture, and all related "stuff." If I don't know, I try to find out. On this blog, will share links to my various articles on (hopefully) interesting topics.
I retired from the University of Manitoba Libraries in September 2010. Have been trying to catch up to myself every since (the story of my life)....

Prairie Fire -- "Echoes from Ukrainian Canada."Special issue on Ukrainian Canadian literature, October 1992. Co-initiator of issue and member of guest editorial board.One non-fiction work and one review.

Spirit of Ukraine:500 Years of Ukrainian Painting.Winnipeg:Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1991.Co-editor (one of four) and translator.

Carpathia Credit Union -- 50 Years of Service to the Community.Winnipeg:Carpathia Credit Union, 1990.Co-author with Dr. Halyna Muchin.

Writer of three anniversary brochures for the Rusalka Ukrainian Dance Ensemble of Winnipeg:1972, English text; 1979, Ukrainian text; 1982, Ukrainian and English text.

Over 400 published articles in numerous publications -- The Globe and Mail, Winnipeg Free Press, Prairie Fire, University of Manitoba Alumni Journal, Prairie Garden, Canadian [Antiques] Collector, Forum: a UkrainianReview, and -- columnist for The UkrainianWeekly (Parsippany, New Jersey).

SOME OF MY LECTURE SUBJECTS

Why We Do What We Do:Origins and Symbolism of Ukrainian Traditions

Baba Was Right All Along: Ukrainian Folk Medicine

Songs Your Mother Should Never Have Taught You?Erotic Symbolism in Ukrainian Folk Songs

Konopli - Hemp in Ukrainian Tradition and Life

Perogies on the Prairies: from Ukrainian Village to Mainstream Canada

Origins of Ukrainian Traditions

Ukrainian Wedding Traditions in Manitoba (and general)

Pysanky - Ukrainian Easter Eggs and What They Mean

Ukrainian Christmas

Symbolism in Ukrainian Songs and in Folk Art

Free-for-all re Things Ukrainian

My 15th Folk Art and Culture Tour of Ukraine in 2012

The dates for 2013 are Aug. 22-Sept. 8. Please book early.

Folks are asking about this tour -- word of mouth is good! But if you are interested, act quickly to be sure to go. You'll need to reserve with Martha Banias at The Great Canadian Travel Company, and also be sure that your passport is not within 6 months of expiring at the time of the trip!